The Retribution
by BCandTheSundaceK
Summary: Animorphs 55. 2 years after the events of book 54: The Beginning, Cassie ponders why she still lives, when all her friends have died. And what purpose she has anymore. Can a lone Animorph still make a difference in the world
1. Author's Note

Author's Note

This is intended to be one of several Animorph stories in the story arc I author. If anyone knows how to get the "greater than" or "less than" (used for Thought-speak) symbols to display on this site please tell me, I would be most appreciative Right now I am just using underline to show thought-speak. I was wondering if I was able to convey the characters in the same vein as KA Applegate did. Thanks for reading my story, and all reviews are welcome.


	2. The Distraught

Death in space is not pretty, I don't know where Hollywood gets off on these romanticized deaths in space, but I assure you they aren't based on fact. You know the deaths I'm talking about, like when an astronaut gets sucked out of a ship, and he just gets that light blue tint and floats away peacefully. Or sometimes they have them freeze into an ice cube. Even when they show a 'ghastly' death, the ones with the screaming and the pleading, it still doesn't even touch what really happens.

I guess I should probably back up a little. A few seconds ago our fearless leader, Jake of the Animorphs, gave the order to ram the Bladeship with the _Rachel. _I can't really blame him, we didn't have a whole lot of options in front of us, and there is no way he could have known what was going to happen next. I was in my natural form, a red tailed hawk, well I guess it isn't my natural form, but over the years of living that life I have come to see it that way. I was further back on the bridge, not much usually happened on our adventures and I wasn't really needed in my human morph. That is why I know Hollywood is wrong about space deaths, especially how long you can linger in the shear vacuum of space.

An explosion rocked both the ships as we made contact, Menderash had aimed the _Rachel_ at the power core of the Bladeship. The Bladeship's power core was ruptured and going critical, they would soon all be dead, and us with them, for the explosion would be as Menderash explained earlier "quite substantial." I hoped that our crew died on impact, because if they hadn't they would suffer the same fate as Santorelli. Without the presence of an atmosphere, blood will instantly boil. You have probably seen bloated road kill on the side of a highway, well boiling of your blood has the same effect, only like a million times worse. Air was ripped from every cavity in his body. I saw his lungs try and force their way out of his bloated face, and his intestines spewed out of his… well you get the point.

I wasn't one of the lucky ones that died on impact and I was being sucked out into the expanse of space before us. I had just seen my own death, and it wasn't pretty. As my battered bird body was about to pass through the threshold of the ships hull, my vision was obscured by a white hot light, and then everything went …

Cassie

It has been over two years now. Two years since they stole that Andalite ship and took off to find Ax. It shouldn't have taken this long, something had to have gone wrong. I sat there curled up on the floor, disgusted with myself. Deep down I knew they were dead, I could feel it, like a light had been blown out. I sobbed, I had betrayed them all, they were my friends, my family, my fellow Animorphs. Animorph ... I didn't even deserve to be called that anymore. Not since... not since Rachel died. That's when I lost it; I was no longer Cassie the noble, or Cassie the moral compass. I had become more jaded, more cynical, but we all had. Mostly what I had become was Cassie the Stranger.

I knew it was dumb, but I became detached, you know what they say, if you never get close to anyone, you'll never feel hurt. I had never been one who favored the drink, could never get past its rancid flavor, no I was not for that destructive self pity. I became my job. Anyone could have done it, Tobias would have been the best choice, he was closer to the Hork-Bajir colony than anyone else, but he too drifted away, to never be hurt again.

That is also how I met Ronnie Chambers. I started to sever my old ties and make new ones so I wouldn't be reminded of who I was. I thought I was fine, and I didn't need anyone; it is amazing how you can lie to yourself. After the incident, it was what all the brass had started referring to the ship theft as, the president suggested that I take some time off. You know for personal reasons; really they were afraid that I might do the same thing. But he didn't realize I wasn't one of them anymore. Nope I did the opposite, I became my job. All I did was work; I cut everyone off, school, work family, and Ronnie. But it had been along time since anything really serious was between me and Ronnie. There is only so much support a friend can offer, and have it shot down before they stop trying to help at all. It was probably better this way I kept telling myself. Better have him leave because I kept constantly pushing him away, rather than him discovering a reason of his own to leave, or worse have him die like everyone else I cared about.

In my mind I kept wondering, what was my purpose, why had I lived when so many others had died? The report had said that 6 people had stolen the fighter, 6; there were only 4 of us left. And since I didn't go that meant 3 unknowns risked their own lives to save my friends, and I chose not too, where was my honor? Where was friendship then? I fell asleep stewing with the warm glow of the TV bathing me. I decided to take the bosses advice, to take some time off, he wanted me to see a councilor, but I didn't need that I needed some one to talk to, and only Erek would be able to understand everything, but I hadn't heard from him since Rachel's death, the Chee just up and disappeared.

And let's face it aside from Toby, Hork-Bajir aren't too chatty, I didn't exactly have any other Animorph ally ties. I did end up going to Yellowstone though, I would just hide out in my Hork-Bajir morph, maybe none of them would notice another Hork-Bajir hanging around. Especially these days when more and more 'displaced' Hork-Bajir kept arriving. I knew Toby would notice, but she wouldn't say anything. Before I implemented my plan, I felt like taking a hike as a human, Hork-Bajir eyes are pretty lame, and I find that absorbing all of Yellowstone's majesty to be quite relaxing.

Then I saw something I never expected to see out there, another human. No one is supposed to be this close to the Hork-Bajir sanctuary, it isn't a zoo. I started to march over toward him to give him a piece of my mind, or see if he was lost which ever came first. I laughed at myself a little; I had become more like Rachel, since she'd been gone. Before I reached him he said.

"Hello Cassie"

I was taken aback, "how do you know me?" I asked stupidly

"There isn't anyone on the planet who doesn't know you… What are you doing here?" he asked interrupting my thought process

"I thought you were on leave?" obviously the first question was rhetorical

"How ..."

"They said on the news you were taking a leave of absence, but isn't this where you work? I suppose you're brooding about something, this would be a good place to start I suppose." This guy didn't shut up; I couldn't say anything

"I find it helpful if I trace my steps back to where the whole thing started, only then can I ever move on"

"Look," I interrupted "I'm sure that is all nice and dandy, but you're not suppose to be here."

What I said seemed to knock him out of whatever trance he had been it. He shook his head, and seemed to resume from where he had left off. "Yeah… you don't know where the ranger station is? I got separated from our tour group." This seemed so familiar, but I just brushed it off. "Sure, I'll lead you there."

The great thing about being and Animorph, or a former Animorph, is that traveling anywhere is a breeze. And since I didn't need to be anywhere for a long time, I figured I would fly home. Not to my apartment back at DC, I meant home, home. Something that Hiker said really struck a cord with me. I started to morph my osprey. The first thing that happened was the shrinking. It feels like you're falling forever, yet you know that you'll never hit the ground. Not that this ever gives me any comfort. My skin started to itch across my arms, and feathers were beginning to draw themselves on my skin. They popped out, into 3-d, and stated getting the grayish white color of the osprey. All across my skin and morphing suit, feather began to appear. At this point, I heard a grinding sound followed by a pop, as my joints reversed. And a sickening squishing and gurgling as my organs sloshed around, grew or disappeared. There I was a three foot bird with a human head and legs. The others used to say I had a talent for morphing, I don't know about that, but I know what came next no one could have made look good. My toes squished together like play-doh, and then snaked out. Through the soft doh, razor sharp talons stabbed out. My legs went from brown, to a scaly yellow. My top lip and nose fused together, and my teeth seemed to spread like a disease over the top of both of them. In the place of the 5 foot 4, and proud of every inch she could muster, girl was now a two foot grey white raptor. I flew for a long time. Morphing and Demorphing. I ended up, camping out the first night. I figured at the rate I was going it would take me another day and a half, to get to where I was going. And that was only if I wanted to kill myself from exhaustion, morphing rapidly takes a lot out of you.

The first night was a pretty normal night, no nightmare save for the occasional live through of a battle. They were becoming less frequent, but that was only because something much worse kept taking there places. I tended the fire I had made, I didn't feel sleepy anymore. My mind drifted off, and I began to fall into my same routine of questioning what I had done.

"Cassie." Moaned a voice

That snapped me out of my stupor. The voice it sounded so familiar.

"Cassie, help me."

I ran towards the voice it was in pain. When I arrived, I found what I knew I would find, it is what I always find. Rachel, not in a morph, but human, barely clinging to life. She didn't look the Rachel I wanted to remember, she looked like she did after being brutally mauled by a bear. Not just any bear a polar bear, NO! Tom in a morph. And not Tom, but that Yeerk who controlled him. I looked at her, there was no way she should have been alive, her face and head gashed open, her intestines dragging behind her as she crawled forward with her one good hand, the rest of her body limp. Her face pale, ashen with death.

"Why didn't you save me?"

"I couldn't." I pleaded

"why didn't you save Ax?"

"I couldn't" I lied

Her face started to shift to his, and his sad eyes gazed into my soul, slowly but surely 'Rachel' went through all my friends faces. Even Tobias' and it was his real face, not the face of his hawk morph. Finally it came back to Rachel's face.

"You lie, You didn't even try! Where were your 'evolved moral sensibilities' then?" She screamed

"AHHHHHHHH!" I woke up in a puddle of my own sweat. It was times like this that I wished for my old nightmares to come back, those, those ones, I could deal with.

I finally made it back home. I didn't stop to bother my parents right away; I just wanted to tour my life so I could end this nightmare. I went to the Gardens, and saw flashes of us all acquiring our animals, our first morphs. I wondered over to the Grizzly den, and saw him sitting there staring back at me, Rachel's battle morph. How many times had we both been side by side in battle? I went to look for Jake's tiger, but he wasn't being social. So I went to see Big Jim. He was always about, such a character that one, always clowning about. _You'd think he was a smarter, cuter Marco_ Rachel's voice rang in my head. That's when I knew what I needed to find, wasn't here.

I went back to my house, to visit the Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic. It wasn't the same as it was before, since I had become the super celebrity, the place was totally renovated, it was remodeled. It looked the same, yet nicer. No business was conducted in our old barn; I asked my dad set it aside, as a remembrance for what it had been. I flew in through the rafters as Tobias had done. From up here I could _see_ everyone back again, Marco lolling on the hay, cracking jokes. Rachel throwing clumps of dirt, or what I hope was dirt, or hay to shut him up. Past Marco and Rachel's playful banter, would be me Cleaning cages, Jake pacing back and forth going over missions. Glancing up at me… no Tobias, asking if he were sure we were safe.

with these eyes… He'd start, I wouldn't worry about that, what I would worry about is giving Homer a flea bath.

Of course you could never tell if he were serious, but it would get Jake all excited. And through the stall, I would see Ax, gallop in to join the meeting so we could finally discuss what we had come to do. This is where we decided the fate of the planet, decided the fate of the galaxy, and decided our fates. To be heroes; to be Animorphs. It is where we choose to Animorphs, but it isn't where we became them.

As I flew to the construction site, I thought about the 'vision' I had in the barn. And I remembered a quote from the newest Die Hard movie. A quote, I was sure Rachel would have put on her bulletin board if she had seen it. _Screw being a hero!_ _You know what you get for being a hero? Nothin'. You get shot at. You get a little pat on the back, blah blah blah, attaboy. You get divorced. Your wife can't remember your last name. Your kids don't want to talk to you. You get to eat a lot of meals by yourself. Trust me, kid, nobody wants to be that guy._ ~ John McClane. Of course she would also have the follow up quote which Justin Long says; well I just couldn't do nothing. And Bruce that wise man says, "that's what makes you that guy." Not sure how she would have gotten it on there, that would have taken a dozen sticky notes, but she would have done it and it would have looked perfect. It wasn't as comforting as I remembered it being, but it was the truth.

I landed at the construction site. It still remained unchanged. It felt eerie, almost mystic; it was as if nothing had ever happened here, if nothing had ever changed. It was as if we had some kindred spirit bond, me and the construction site. We were the only unchanged thing. The only ones to survive this war. I walked around, and found where I hid. Where I cried. Where I first met Visser Three, and I where for the first and last time I met Elfangor. His name stopped me cold. I dropped to my knees and cried, as if it was that very day I met him. His eyes stared through me. As if asking, "with all I did for you, and your kind, you couldn't even try and save my brother." I cried and I cried. I heard a muffed growl and I looked up. Not ten feet away was a medium sized dog, a Golden Retriever, not unlike Homer digging a hole. I wandered over towards him. He stuck his head up from the deep hole, and took off. I walked over to the hole. It was at least 4 feet deep. And something seemed to call me towards it. Something was buried under this concrete and dirt.

I started to dig as well, and then I saw something, it was milky white. I reached out and made contact with it. And then Time stopped. It was as if I lived every moment that had ever been, and ever will be in that one instant. All time and yet no time seemed to be there at once. And as I lived my entire life in that moment, that is where I saw what I had dismissed earlier. The Hiker. The way his eyes were when I interrupted his train of though, or at least what I thought I had done. The blank stare the confusion, just like Ms Paloma's eyes, when we had first met… And I knew what I needed to do. "Let's do it." I whispered

Then I swear I heard a faint laughing like a parent does when a child finally figures out which hole the square peg fits through, and I just found out what kind of peg I was. Only this laughter was in and around all things, and I know of only on person, or being, or race that could do that. … The Ellimist


	3. The Time Matrix

I sat there for a while, immersed in the space-time fabric. Contemplating how to make my next move, I guess I could have sat there forever, since technically no time was moving. I was rendered temporarily immortal. Since I saw the entirety of time in an instant, I don't remember much of it. It is hard to sort out. But events containing people I knew I could identify easily. I saw Erek, and the Chee, fleeing from the Pemalite home world, with their companions dying in their arms, while other Chee acted as living shield to only extend their masters… no their friend's lives for a few more moments. I then saw the most interesting and unexpected ever. It was Elfangor, and he had the Time Matrix, not only that but he was with a human girl, not much older than me. Then it hit me, Loren, Tobias' mom. I saw him go back to Earth, change things so no one knew any different, so it was as if Loren was that old when she left. He didn't just change the timeline he completely altered reality. I saw him bury the Time Matrix, where I had found it. I also saw what he did not. He couldn't have known, he and Loren, just used the Time Matrix hastily, they didn't take time to soak in the knowledge that came with it. They couldn't have foreseen what they had done, down the time line, a couple hundred years, the line, simply unwove. Time and everything with it, was destroyed. That is why the Ellimist went back and mended the line, interfered directly. Everything was endangered by this manipulation orchestrated by the unknowing Elfangor. Right there my heart sank, I knew I couldn't fix everything; I couldn't make it so Tobias was magically not a nothlit anymore. If I were to fix things I would have to be careful, and not change too much. I also had thoughts on going back to save Elfangor. I knew deep down, that if I did everything, well not everything, we had accomplished as Animorphs would have changed. It was only through his sacrifice that we were able to be victorious. I decided to start hashing out my plan, what I had come up with so far sounded good, I would go in there for the minimal amount of time causing the minimal amount of interference. Also to maximize my probability of not messing up the time-space continuum, I was only going to change one thing that no one would notice. I was going back to the moment Rachel died.

I knew exactly when it happened; I relived the dream almost nightly. I would pop in there right as the polar bear is swinging at Rachel and pop out before he hits her, no one will know what happened, and it'll be so fast. I would also have to disrupt the communication between the two ships, so as not to let my fellow Animorphs see what had happened. It pained me to do so, but I knew that in order to keep the timeline exactly how it had been when Rachel had died, that I must keep them thinking she did. It was the only way I could ensure the peaceful ending the Yeerk conflict. I was going to pop in there smash the controls pop over to Rachel, and leave, it would be just like Nightcrawler in X-men 2.

I took a deep breath and went back in time, no worries I thought, it's only time travel.

I popped in just like I planned and interrupted the communications, just before the Animorphs could see Rachel die. In the blink of an eye I was gone, no one could have seen me, I was back over by Rachel, and I grabbed her arm, and popped out of there, with only hairs away from her being struck down by the polar bear. Then I jumped to the only place I knew we'd be safe: the past.

There we were sitting at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, in the early 1900's. Rachel was facing away from me.

"Am I dead?" She wondered out loud.

"No," I said.

She spun around "Cassie!" she exclaimed

I fell into her arms and cried. I cried for awhile, until she looked over and noticed the Time Matrix. "Is that the Time Matrix?" She asked

"And more importantly, how tall are you?" she teased.

I explained everything that had happened to her, after she died on the Blade Ship. How we all became distraught and pulled apart.

"Really? And I always thought Marco was the glue that held up together, but you know like that super glue, the kind you accidentally get on your fingers and try like mad to remove."

She was most upset by what happened to Tobias afterwards. Of course being Rachel she was anything but understanding.

"That idiot, what's wrong with him? Get over it, don't run away, for crying out loud, he had my family, he had the Animorphs, and he had his mom. ARGH, I am so going to punch him when we see him. I don't care what PETA or you have to say about that." She continued to vent.

We caught up on my life, and just took in the scenery, knowing that they was no danger of anyone important seeing us at least for another 90 or so years.

"So now what?" She finally asked.

"Well I don't exactly know, I mean I have an idea, but I was hoping you could help."

"I think you kidnapped the wrong Animorph, here. I mean you should have grabbed Marco, I mean that kid lives Sci-Fi. Well I guess we all live it, but he does it in his free time. Like we don't get enough of this as it is. I mean did you actually know he wore out the Original Star Wars Trilogy, and he had it on DVD, I didn't know you could do that. I mean the kid had to have seen that movie where Michael J. Fox time travels."

"What, _Back to the Future_?"

"Could be."

We sat around discussing for a while, and finally decided that we would have to stop Ax, from going to investigate the Blade Ship, since that is how the others were killed.

"Ax." Rachel said "another Animorph you should have rescued before you came and got me."

I ignored her ramblings. She was just doing it to grind my gears; I had forgotten how annoying she could be, but right then, I didn't care I had Rachel back.

I told her to clear her mind so we wouldn't mess up the time travel, I mean I think that was one of the problems Elfangor had using it. Plus I was pretty sure you don't have too many intelligent thoughts running through your mind before it is about to be hit by a polar bear arm. We jumped ahead to Ax's Dome Ship, I went a few days before he found the Blade ship, this way I figure we again, wouldn't change too much, but still be able to stop him.

We immerged on the Dome, We were in the water fall, I did this so none of the Andalites could see the Time Matrix. I walked outside the artificial waterfall, into an Andalite taking a drink.

Wha!!!

"It's ok, we're just here to see Ax," I said, like that was going to help any.

Captain Aximilli is not to be disturbed especially by the likes of you Human Children, and how did

"Listen dick weed," Rachel interrupted him "We're old friends of Ax's I think he would like to visit us, just tell him to come up here, to shoot the breeze with some old Animorph buddies of his. That word mean anything to you boy."

The Andalite, backed up and looked straight down with all of his eyes, I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you, I will go fetch him for you right away

"Men," She said "Doesn't matter what species they are, they always act like they got a stick up their asses."

With in a few minutes Ax came trotting out onto the Dome.

Cassie! He cried And… Rachel? This doesn't make any sense, how did you get here, and why are you not dead. Not meaning any disrespect of course, I am most relieved to find you in a living condition; I just merely wish to understand the circumstances surrounding this situation.

"Same old Ax," Rachel said.

We caught Ax up on our adventure so far

Of course the Time Matrix, it was located on Earth, that would explain everything, but why are you here?

"Ax, we need to keep you from going after the Blade Ship, there is no need to avenge Rachel anymore, she isn't dead.' I explained

"Ohh, that so sweet," Rachel teased "It's not everyday someone goes around avenging you."

I understand Cassie, but I still must search for the renegade Yeerks. Besides we can handle one Blade Ship, this is an Andalite Dome Ship after all.

"But you were captured before, and your entire crew was killed, except one." I pointed out

We are now prepared with what you have told us, and in two days when we locate them, we will be ready.

Captain!

What is it Ensign asked Ax

Incoming transmission, and you wont believe who is broadcasting, it is the Blade Ship

I thought you said we had 2 day. Ax said

"We do, we should..." I started

You must have altered something that has caused this change.

A viewer was patched through to the Dome, so we could see what they wanted. An image appeared on the screen.

"I am the One, and I have been waiting for you Cassie."

"How does he know I am here?" I asked no one in particular

"I came aboard the Yeerk Blade ship and absorbed their commander, I promised them power or destruction. They chose wisely and served me. Their commander, I am sure you are familiar with him; he was the Yeerk who morphed the Polar bear, and almost killed the Animorph Rachel."

"That still doesn't explain this." I said

"The Yeerk I absorbed, he saw you appear, saw the Time Matrix, he had heard of its lore from the Andalites. But he wasn't sure if it was what he truly saw. But he was able to record the energy signature when you appeared. We waited until you came back, and then we would take the Time Matrix from you."

One Blade Ship is no match for a Dome Ship. You can't frighten us! Ax said

"Oh but I didn't come alone." The One laughed.

Just then dozens of ships dropped out of Z-space, surrounding the Dome Ship.

"Oh, Shi…" Rachel started.


	4. The Intrepid

A blaring alarm sounded. Over the thought-speak communicator a calm voice encouraged all warriors to get to their battle stations. Ax bolted away from Rachel and me, he must be headed off towards the bridge I thought. Fighters started to scramble away from the _Intrepid. _The three squadrons of fighters intercepted the many approaching ships, but they were out numbered and out gunned. I stared at Rachel; she looked about as clueless as I did.

"Don't just stand there," she encouraged, "we've got to get in there."

"Like you know how to pilot an Andalite fighter." I pointed out.

I knew we were sitting ducks; we could do nothing but watch. We started to jog off in the same direction Ax had gone, maybe there would be something for us to do on the bridge. More likely than not, we would probably just get in the way. We didn't have to worry about that for too long. There was a loud crash as little pods crashed into the surface of the dome. I looked up and I could see about 4 of them, they looked like a spade. You know like from the deck of playing cards. But they had three legs that protruded from the base of the spade. The pods reared up on the three legs, and then began to produce a large cone like structure in the center of the base, where all the legs steamed from.

"It's a drill." Rachel cried.

She was right; the pods started lowering their bodies up against, the glass, or whatever the dome's surface was made out of, and started drilling away at it.

"Now what?" I asked looking over at Rachel. She could no longer answer me, at least with her voice. Her brown fur was starting to spread across her skin, and began engulfing her black leotard. She knew we had a fight on our hands, and we were going to do everything we could to help the crew of the _Intrepid_. I started to rapidly change into my own battle morph. Yellow canines, already started growing in my mandible. The last of my grey fur appeared when the first pod broke through the dome. Two Hork-Bajir dropped down into the ship, there blades flashing in the starlight as they fell. It was nothing that we couldn't handle; it was the other three pod ships that I was worried about. I didn't have time to think about that, I would be dead if I didn't pay attention to what was at hand. I sprang forward, towards the Hork-Bajir who was recovering from his fall. He was a little off balance, by the time I struck. I was aiming for his snake-like neck, but instead I missed. He wasn't too preoccupied by his landing, he knew a broken leg could be fixed, but a dead body couldn't. I shook my head to dislodge my teeth from his shoulder. My teeth were stuck under a tendon; it would take an extra second to jar my jaws free. Those precious extra seconds were all he would need to mount his counter attack. He brought his arm down on me, slicing me with his elbow and wrist blades. Only his elbow blade stuck deep enough to hit flesh. His wrist-blade was too shallow to cut through my protective fur. The cut made by his elbow-blade was deep, and in my hindquarters. It wasn't anything serious, but it would slow me down. I pushed back, bouncing farther away from my enemy. His arms were out of range. He stepped forward, with one foot then pivoted at tremendous speed, sending his spiked tail whipping towards my face. I rolled under his strike, avoiding the razor-sharp spines. He took full advantage of my evasive maneuver. Using his momentum from his pivot he brought his hand down again. This time he caught my left paw, severing it above the wrist.

"Harooo!" I howled in pain.

He kicked me with his Tyrannosaurus feet causing me to tumble a few feet away. He started to swagger towards me, knowing he had achieved victory he was going to savor this kill. Luckily for me, he and forgotten that I had an 800 pound Grizzly bear as back up. Rachel barreled into the Hork-Bajir sending him crashing to the floor. Taking her razor sharp pick axes she called claws and drove them through his neck, causing his thick green-tinted blood to spurt up into the air.

Man, I'm gone a few years and you get all soft on me. She teased Cassie, you'd better morph out, and you're no good in a fight if you're injured.

She was right, but she didn't need to tell me I had already started to demorph as soon as she attacked my Hork-Bajir. This wasn't good; Rachel had taken out two Hork-Bajir, one of which was mine. There were soon to be six more dropping in soon, there was no way she could handle them all. I needed to start pulling my weight here. One on one, we each could take a Hork-Bajir, but when they started piling in, in greater numbers we would be out of hope. I was just becoming fully wolf again, when my worst fears were realized. Two more of the pods broke through the dome, dropping down more Hork-Bajir warriors.

Rachel, we need to work together if we are to get through this, I began. We'll take the ones on the left, and then hit the ones further away. I hoped that if we moved fast enough we could take down the first two before the second group could join in the fray.

Really? I don't know if I should be taking advice from someone who just got their butt handed to them. Rachel pointed out.

Rachel barreled at the closest Hork-Bajir, putting her shoulder into the hit. The warrior side stepped her attack, slashing a gash in her back. This did little damage, and only succeeded in enraging her more.

Keep going! I told her. Grizzlies have bad eyes, and I could see that the second Hork-Bajir warrior wouldn't be able to avoid her charging mass.

All the while, I had been flanking the first Hork-Bajir warrior. He turned his back when he delivered his blow to Rachel. This allowed me an unobstructed attack on his back. I leaped into the air, front paws crashing down on his shoulders. We tumbled forward, and then with jaws that could down a full grown Bull Moose, I bit down on his muscular snake-like neck. He was down, and he wasn't getting back up. I couldn't say the same for the second warrior, he was engaged in a struggle of titans with Rachel, their arms locked, each trying to knock the other down. I would be over soon to give Rachel the extra boost to win the struggle. Sadly this would only win us this battle, for other two Hork-Bajir would arrive right after I did, and then we would be in trouble, but we might pull through. At least that is what I thought, until I heard a crash sound right above me. Dropping down the other group of Hork-Bajir down on our heads.

Tsweeeeeeeeeeeee!

Tsweeeeeeeeeeeee!

Dracon beams, these two warriors had Dracon beams. We weren't going to make it out of this battle alive, any chance we had of surviving was just reduced to zero, we could maybe have rolled a lucky seven and made it through the physical battle, but when you brought weaponry into the mix we were about as helpless as humans. The Dracon beam blasts didn't hit us though. In fact they weren't even Dracon beams, it was Shredder fire. I saw the green streaks of lighting zoom over head, striking the descending Hork-Bajir. Vaporizing them instantly. I smashed into the Hork-Bajir still struggling with Rachel, and bit his calf. He yelped in pain, swinging an arm at me. It was all the distraction Rachel needed; she powered her arm into his torso, knocking him back a few feet. I leaped on to his body biting his neck, severing his artery. I hopped back, the peered at the several Andalite soldiers running to our aid. They took down the rest of the Hork-Bajir who landed. I looked up, and there were over a dozen more of those boarding pods attached to the dome. Even with the added Andalite fire power I knew we had lost this ground battle. Looking past the dome, I could see that most of the fighters had been fired. The Blade ship approached the _Intrepid_ claiming its prize.

Rachel, follow me! I yelled.

I headed back towards the waterfall, Rachel in tow. She moved slower, having only one front foot.

Demorph in the waterfall, it'll cover us I said.

I had no intentions of rejoining the battle, but I knew Rachel wouldn't stand for that, I had to convince her it was only a temporary retreat. We started to demorph, as soon as I demorphed enough that I had human hands I grabbed onto Rachel's forearm, and touched the Time Matrix. It was what they had come for, and I had to leave, before they could destroy the entire universe. I went back, to where we were, just not when we were. It was right after the final battle of the Animorphs, the day Rachel died. We were there again at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

"What did you do that for?" Rachel screamed "You left them there to die!"

"No, I didn't," I corrected. "That hasn't even happened yet. We are in the past again, well, my past, your present."

I explained our current predicament.

"Still Ax was in trouble and you left him." She pointed out

"What did you want to do?" I asked "Stay there and die? At least this way the Time Matrix doesn't fall into the 'One's' hands, and I can fix that screw up from ever happening."

"Yeah and how are you going to do that?"

"I don't know!" I answered back, a tear rolling down my cheek. I was so close, so close to saving her, and fixing everything. Just one miscalculation and everything went back to the way it was. No, it would have been worse. That is why I left Rachel, here, where it was safe, where I could get to her again, if need be. I was going to fix this problem.

"I don't know what I'm going to do, but I am going to save you." I said, hugging Rachel. It was a lie. At least a little bit of one. If my calculations were correct, I would make it so that this Rachel didn't exist, I would save her before she would even be in danger. I would save Rachel before she became this Rachel. It was the only way to do it, but I didn't know if it would work or what it would change. But I did know she would still be alive, and that is all that would matter. I backed up to the Time Matrix. _Bye_ I mouthed to Rachel, as I disappeared into time and space. I sat there again, in time, knowing what I had to do. I was too selfish the first time, hubris was my fault, I thought I knew what others had done wrong, but it turns out I was just as foolish. I didn't learn from the mistakes of Visser Four, any change will make a change in the future, but I thought mine were small enough to go without being noticed. My action would have to be little, not like the ones I had done earlier, pulling a human out of the time stream. And the force of time itself would have to change the present, not my hand alone. I was going to go back, back to when our resistance took a turn for the worst. I was going to go back and stop the pebble that started the avalanche that ended our journey with the death of Rachel and the disbandment of the Animorphs. I was going back to destroy the Escafil Device.


	5. The Journey's End

I disappeared back into the Spacetime fabric. Even though I told Rachel to wait there, until I came back, I knew she wouldn't. I could see her, through the power of the Time Matrix, morphing into a bald eagle and heading back towards that final battle we Animorphs fought. She would never make it there in time to down anything, but that didn't mean she wouldn't try. It was irrelevant though, I had a time machine, I could always arrive back as soon as I disappeared, and she would be none the wiser. In fact it would have never happened. I had the power to change history, make it so people, and events never happened. I had to be careful though, I didn't want to go corrupt with power and start tampering with ideas that kept popping into my head. I had grown a little wary, since my first plan didn't work as, … well planned. My mind kept saying, it doesn't matter what you do, it'll never work out right. Just go back and kill Visser Three, put all your problems at rest. _SHUT UP!_ I screamed at myself, hopefully scaring those thoughts away for good. I had a plan, and this time it should work. I was going to go back and destroy the Escafil device. The one Elfangor gave us, just not when he gave it too us, I was going to destroy it after we recovered it, I couldn't destroy it right after, we had used it a couple of times. Sometimes it worked out well for us, and other times, well who can forget about David? The trick was deciding when to do it. I could go back and destroy it before David ever lays his hands on it, and prevent that whole catastrophe. I decided against doing that for selfish reasons. I told myself it was for other reasons of course, but in the end I knew why I had to do it. Originally I tried to place justification on Rachel's soul. It was through that hellish nightmare, where she first realized how close she was to that line she walked. That line between brave and barbaric. She had stepped over it, during those missions, and she punished herself, by enduring David's cries as he became the second Animorph to become a _nothlit_. I said this had awaken her, given her the strength to do the right thing, to be the hero she was. Ultimately I decided I would not destroy the device then, because it taught us to never use the morphing cube, except in dire circumstances. My mind kept coming back to the questions, _but wasn't David's situation dire?_ I guess it is true, you never learn from your mistakes, but at least this time I could fix them. The real reason that I left the David Incident occur was the team. I was still lying to myself; I added the others to my explanation. You see, it was a tough time for me as an Animorph, I had just recently quit the team, and all sorts of feelings were running through me. You see, I feel the reason we jumped so quickly to the decision to create a new Animorph was me. I don't think that they believed that I would stay. That my run in with the girl Karen and the Yeerk Aftran 942, would only me the boost to stay a little while. I believe they were getting a replacement Animorph not an addition. The David Incident also was our first real loss. Elfangor's fate was out of our hands, but this time the failure was brought upon ourselves by us. It was all of our doing, no enemy thwarted us, and it showed us how close we all walked that line. And it brought us closer together as a group it was what pulled us through all those upcoming battles. We all knew that the six of us were our only family, and nothing could change that. And most importantly it restored their trust in me. My thoughts fell back on David, and then that thought crept back into my mind _David's situation dire…_ It was eerie. Then my mind seemed to make a jump, it connected David with the Auxiliary Animorphs. Of course, I had to prevent the Yeerks from getting their hands on the device. I had to destroy the Escafil device before they captured it, but how much before? I settled on a time that was before we became fugitives, before we were refugees in the Hork-Bajir colony, but after Aftran 942 was saved through the power of the cube. I didn't go there right way, first I needed to acquire a Dracon beam. No, a Shredder, I wasn't sure if Ax could tell the difference between Dracon fire, and Shredder fire, but I decided to play it on the safe side. I didn't want the group to think the Yeerks had found us and were moving in for the kill. I was able to go a little into the future, or present? I guess I really couldn't tell anymore, and got one. It's really amazing at what you can get your hands on when you're the President's advisor on the Hork-Bajir and resident aliens. I then jumped back to before, as far as I could gather, things started to go bad. It was right after we had saved Aftran 942 from being tortured by Visser Three. I found her in a Ziploc bag filled with water, on my dresser. I needed to talk to her, see there had been a pact I made with Aftran before I let her go out into the ocean. It was that we would meet up with each other when she migrated through. It had been some time since I had heard from her; in fact I don't think I had seen her since she set off into the ocean. I don't know if she was killed or poached, or what, but I couldn't let her go to her death. I placed her up to my ear, I felt her crawl into my canal, and finally make a connection with my brain. Cassie? Aftran asked she established a connection.

Yes it is me. I answered stupidly.

But not the 'you' I know. She said. You can't hide anything from a Yeerk.

We really didn't even need to talk, since she could read my mind, but we did anyways, I think she knew it made me feel better. I didn't know what to do, but Aftran proposed the idea, though I gave the specifics. We agreed that Aftran would perform the Frolis Maneuver, the morphing technique that Ax used to create a unique human being for himself out of all of the Animorph DNA. In retrospect it made more sense that having her morph into a humpback whale. At least this way she was able to communicate and be with other sentient creatures, even if they weren't her own species.

Aftran decided to morph into an adult female. I originally suggested morphing a kid about the same age as the rest of the Animorphs. She could be adopted by Karen's family or even by Mr. Tidwell who's Yeerk, Illim, was a member of her peace movement, both people we knew we could trust. Aftran pointed out that, both have an intimate connection with her, and the Yeerks would be suspicious of new people in their lives, regardless if they could be escaped Yeerks or not. She figured the Chee could help her set up a false identity for her, since they were experts at it.

After the past me saw Aftran off as a humpback whale, she returned to shore and became a human nothlit, she agreed that she would steer clear of the Yeerks; we couldn't risk her becoming a Controller.

The next night I gathered up the Escafil device, and placed it beside the Time Matrix, maybe I could destroy them both in one fell swoop. I quickly decided against it, besides it was doubtful that an Andalite weapon could destroy something built by the Ellimist. I walked over to the window of my room. I looked down, and saw myself sleeping. I morphed a cockroach and slipped in under the window sill. I demorphed inside my room. I couldn't bring myself to face the younger me, so instead I opted for the coward's way out. I wrote myself a note. In the note I described how I would take the Escafil device, and destroy it, as well as its old hiding place something only an Animorph could know about, unless you count those annoying Helmacrons. I also included personal things in the letter that only I knew about myself, as a way to communicate to myself that it really was me who destroyed it. Well I didn't say it was me exactly, but I did kind of drop a hint at it. This way at least, they knew a trusted person destroyed the cube, and that it wasn't stolen. I left the note under my digital alarm clock, the yellow sheet illuminated by the red glow of the numbers. I knew I would find it there in the morning. I slipped out of the house the same way that I came in. I set the morphing cube atop the lip of the well, and turned up the power on the Shredder, not to the maximum setting because I didn't want to fry myself, but pretty close to it. I pulled the trigger, and green light poured out. The light lanced towards the cube, but it never made it to the cube it just stopped right before hitting it. I knew it should have burned through the cube by now, and maybe some of the well. I was hoping we could play it off as a lighting strike. I wasn't touching the Time Matrix, and I knew of only one being who could stop time.

_Hello Cassie_ his voice reverberated, _I see you have figured it out, or at least were close enough_.

"What do you mean," I demanded. "Figured what out?"

_The cube, it was reason for the trip._

"So this saves Rachel?" I yelled at the nothingness

Light and dust seemed to gather from nowhere forming the familiar humanoid with the slight blue glow.

"Perhaps, a side effect of your action." The Ellimist speculated "The future is not always as clear as you perceive it to be, as you are finding out Cassie."

"Bull!" I said, "You know more that you're telling me, why else go back?"

"To save an individual? Unlikely. Especially one who had already fulfilled her purpose in the cosmic scheme of things. No individual is that important, even one whom you care so much about. I wouldn't think you to be so naive to believe that."

"Why else go back," I repeated. "Why else did I find the Matrix, I suspected you had a hand in this."

"I never told you anything that you didn't already know, you found the Time Matrix on your own, and what you did with it wasn't in my hands."

"But why didn't you and Crayak stop me, like you did Visser Four?"

"We had an arrangement worked out, that allowed us both to not interfere with your tampering of the timeline."

"Yeah and what was that?" I demanded

"By destroying the Escafil device, you will have made your forces weaker; it is more likely that the Yeerks will be able to win in the war between themselves and the Andalites. Crayak's stake in this was that you would be foolish enough to destroy it too early on and remove all hope of you winning the war."

"Did I?" I protested, "Did I ruin our chances?"

"The future is never certain." He replied, giving his usual non-answer.

"What did you gain then?"

"Hopefully through this action, I will be able to preserve a species." He answered

"What species, if we loose we're as good as dead, that doesn't make any sense, not even for you." I railed at him.

"Not your species," he answered, "A different one. If your forces are victorious, I hope to stop you from killing a species"

"We didn't kill the Yeerks, we are making progress in all peace talks, and there are just a few splinter remnant groups, Warlords with vendettas." I explained.

"It is not the Yeerks, which I fear for, it is the Taxxons. You see by allowing all the Taxxons to become _nothlits_, you killed off their species. Their offspring will not have the sentience that they possessed. They will be like normal snakes, and eventually the last of the real Taxxons will die out, as a snake, leaving behind only a legacy of betrayal."

"We didn't want that, we tried to help them, they wanted to end their unnatural hunger, and we gave them what they wanted." I pleaded. "We never meant for this we wanted to help."

"I know it wasn't your intentions, but it is what came about none the less. By destroying the Escafil device, you prevent that atrocity from ever occurring, thus the Taxxons will live on in the galaxy. As for their hunger, it is natural for a Taxxon, but their ravenous hunger was suppressed by the presence of their The Living Hive sentient beings who watch the Taxxons, like an ant queen if you will. Once they reconstruct the hives, they will be at peace again."

The Ellimist explained a bit more, about how the future hopefully will pan out for the Taxxons. He then put me back to where I was before he stopped time. The Shredder fire, erupted back to life, consuming the Escafil device and scorching the well pump, as I planned. It would be a freak lighting strike nothing more..

I woke up to a blast; I had heard that sound before, Dracon fire. I was scared, had they somehow found me, and knew who I was, if so my whole family would be dead or worse, and then they would get the others. I started to morph a fly, I knew I couldn't fight my way out; I had to escape and warn the others. As I started to morph, my eyes caught a glimpse of a note under my alarm clock. What it said was impossible. I stopped morphing and starred at the note in disbelief. I heard my dad, racing through the house, to make sure everything was in place. "Looks like the lighting just hit the well pump," He said, "I'm going out to check to see if the animals are ok." It was just as the note said he would react. She, …, I must have done this before, and recorded what had happened the first time I shot the well, and then gone back and done it again only this time hitting the Escafil device along with the well. I was going to call a meeting tomorrow and straighten everything out.

Luckily it was Friday night when the incident happened, and no missions had been assigned, it was perfect, too perfect. There was no other explanation, for how, I…She…we could have planned this. The others arrived at my barn that afternoon, my Dad had gone to see the insurance agency about damages on the property, Mom was out at the Gardens, and one of the animals had just given birth the day before. Like I said before perfect. We didn't let our guard down though. I waited until Tobias gave the all clear and then I entered the Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic, where all the Animorphs had assembled. We went through everything; Ax checked out the burns and convinced everyone by the ultraviolet scorching and the infrared interwoven metal fragments of part of the pump that it was a Shredder blast. He explained more, but it was all lost too us, we just took his word for it. We finally concluded our investigation on the matter, deciding to believe what I wrote.

Ax also came up with an explanation of what happened after the blast. He explained that since future Cassie destroyed the Escafil device, she changed the future, making it so the one she came from never existed. She along with the Time Matrix she arrived in, disappeared simultaneously with the Escafil device, the only evidence she had been there was the burn marks on the well, and a note placed under my alarm clock

"Well," Marco said, "I was sure surprised to hear Cassie call a meeting, but I had no idea this is what it would be about."

He walked over to his backpack, he didn't morph to get here he took the bus; having 5 birds of prey head towards the same location would have been a little suspicious.

"I was like cool, a little bit of a change up, who knows what she found out, maybe a new Yeerk scheme, but Noooooo! So I was like whatever this meeting is about, I'll bring something to put our minds at ease and solve our biggest problem."

"Our biggest problem," Jake interrupted, "is getting you to shut up."

"Ha, ha ha, and ha." Marco continued.

"What is our biggest problem?" I asked

"Uniforms," He said, digging in his back pack. "All I have done is complain …"

"That's what I've been saying since day one, all you ever do." Rachel said.

"Ahem… about us not having uniforms and how no superhero team is complete with out uniforms. And I am sorry this raggedy ass assembly of leotards and bike shorts just doesn't cut it anymore. My friends I give you the new look of the Animorphs." Marco exclaimed displaying a long sleeve spandex shirt that had contained the under armor logo.

"It even has our symbol" he continued pointing at the logo.

Well Marco has finally lost it Tobias said There is no 'U' in Animorphs

"Duh, bird-boy, its like the new line of comics Marvel is putting out, Ultimate Spider-man, Ultimate FF etc. I figure if were getting a facelift, we might as well be the 'Ultimate Animorphs' and the best thing is we could do this either X-men style or Fantastic Four style."

"And to those of us who aren't huge dorks, what does that mean?"

"Well I got myself the Navy blue one, but they come in all kinds of colors. We could be like the Power Rangers or something, or all have the same color like the Fantastic Four."

"First we're the 'Ultimate Animorphs' then the X-men, then the Fantastic Four, what next Superman?" Jake pressed.

Marco smiled and pulled on his button up shirt ripping it open to reveal his navy blue Underarmor morphing suit. Tossing the one he displayed at Jake. "I knew his size, but no one else's, and I figured by applying the most powerful source known to man, peer pressure, you would have to all get uniforms."  
I do not understand Ax commented I thought Nuclear Fission was the strongest force known to humans, unless you were talking about pressure, then I assumed it was degeneracy pressure.

Marco rolled his eyes. We all laughed at Ax's joke, or what we thought was his joke.

"Well," Rachel said, heading towards Jake's new morphing uniform, feeling the fabric. "At least Marco isn't stupid and tried to get me a pink one." Then she glanced at me giving me a wink "Besides it'll give me an excuse to go shopping."

"You don't need an excuse to go to the mall, you practically live there." I retorted

"Oh, who said anything about an excuse for me, I was talking about a reason to drag you there."

I should have kept my mouth shut; I had just gotten myself into going to the Mall with Rachel. I guess it is true what I said you never know where the future is going to take you.


End file.
